Discovery
by Fairy Dell
Summary: Adrien makes a life-changing discovery.
1. Revelation

**Disclaimer: It's not mine. Not even a little bit.**

* * *

"Honestly, why you think someone as perfect as Adrien would even look twice at someone as pathetic and stupid as you is just laughable. Really Marinette, have a little self-respect. Know your place."

Marinette carefully kept her features schooled, managing an eyeroll and a brushoff of the spoiled socialite. Usually she was able to ignore Chloe's sharp words, but it was just one of those days. The things Chloe said rattled around in Marinette's mind, planting seeds of self-doubt. She ducked outside between classes, avoiding Alya's concerned gaze. She just needed a few minutes to herself. Tikki seemed to sense that and stayed quietly concealed in Marinette's bag.

She found an empty corner of the courtyard and tucked herself into it, chin resting on her knees. Slowly, the insecurity transformed into anger. How dare Chloe say such things? She didn't know Adrien as well as she pretended to and she certainly didn't know Marinette. Who was she to say whether Marinette had a chance with Adrien or not?

Adrien, leaving school for a mid-afternoon photo shoot, caught sight of the angry girl. As he was about to head over to see what was wrong, he froze, eyes fixed on a glowing akuma as it fluttered by.

"No," he whispered desperately. "Not Marinette. Don't make me fight her."

As it approached her, Adrien clenched his fists. He stopped in shock as he drew a breath, preparing to call out his transformation phrase.

Marinette had noticed the akuma.

He watched, curious to see her reaction. Adrien didn't know what happened to people who saw akumas before they were possessed. Did the akuma still try to control its intended victim? Or could it not do so without the element of surprise?

Marinette watched the akuma impassively as it fluttered toward her, seemingly harmless. As it prepared to land on her jacket, her hand shot out and she grabbed it.

To Adrien's utter shock, a familiar white glow surrounded her fist and when she opened her fingers, a purified akuma flew serenely away.

"No evil doing for you today," she said with a soft smile. "Bye-bye little butterfly."

Adrien couldn't breathe. He somehow found himself in the car, heading to a photoshoot he would never be able to recall.

Marinette was Ladybug.

It wasn't a complete surprise. Adrien had wondered about Ladybug's identity more than he cared to admit, and every female he met or interacted with was scrutinized for possible similarities. And Marinette had crossed his mind more than anyone else.

He had two lists in his mind: girls who might be Ladybug and girls he hoped were. Marinette was high on the first list, and if he was completely honest, hers was the only name on the second.

The rest of his day passed in a blur. To his disappointment, he and Ladybug didn't have a patrol scheduled that evening and no akumas appeared.

"It's alright," he whispered excitedly to Plagg, who had been ignoring his rambling ever since the two got home. "I'll get to see her tomorrow. I'll see _Ladybug_ because she's _Marinette_!"

"Please go to sleep, kid," Plagg begged. "The sooner you sleep, the sooner you'll see her."

Adrien gasped. "You're right! I'll go to sleep right now!"

Plagg rolled his eyes affectionately, enjoying the blissful quiet.

Marinette was talking to Alya before school started, having made it early for once (probably because she didn't have too much homework the night before and no hero duties).

"And you're sure you're ok?" Alya asked, concerned. "You seemed kind of down yesterday."

"Yeah," Marinette said ruefully. "Chloe managed to get to me a little, that's all."

"I swear," Alya said with a scowl. "One of these days I'm gonna give that girl-"

"Marinette!" A shout interrupted the two friends. Adrien rushed over, a huge smile lighting up his face. "It's you!"

Before either girl could ask what he meant, Adrien wrapped his arms around the star struck girl, picked her up, and started twirling around excitedly.

Alya wasted no time in switching her phone to capture video. She didn't know what was happening or why, but she would be damned if she missed the opportunity to film such a momentous occasion. Also, Marinette might not believe it happened without proof.

Poor Marinette looked as though she had died and gone to heaven but was terribly confused as to why she was there.

He set her down with a smile, eyes widening when he saw her dazed red face.

"I'm sorry!" He blurted. "I'm just so excited to see you!"

"Me too," Marinette stammered. "I mean, I'm excited to see you, not me. I see me everyday. Not that I don't see you pretty often too, but that's more exciting. I mean-"

"I know exactly what you mean," Adrien said with a soft smile. "Can I walk you to class?"

Marinette managed a soft squeak in reply and the two headed off. Alya watched them go with a smile.

"Nerds," she said affectionately.

* * *

 **Before you freak out, yes, I'm planning a second chapter where Marinette finds out about Adrien/Chat.**

 **Special thanks to star-eye for editing and telling me that I basically am Alya (what a compliment!).**

 **Catch ya later, lovelies!**

 **-FD**


	2. Interlude

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

* * *

Alya cackled as she stared at her phone, playing the video on a loop. There was no doubt about it. This was the best video ever.

"Do I want to know?" Nino asked cautiously as he approached.

She didn't respond, merely turning the phone so he could see it. Nino's eyes widened as he watched.

"I missed it?" he cried. "Aw man!"

"But at least there's a video to watch," Alya said, patting his arm. "Over and over and over again."

Nino froze. "Wait, they're heading to class. We'd better book it if we wanna see Chloe's reaction."

"Oh my god," Alya gasped. "I almost forgot about that!"

They sprinted for the classroom, sliding in the door just ahead of Chloe and Sabrina, who shot them annoyed looks. Alya threw herself in her seat and started recording again.

Marinette was in her normal seat and Adrien was leaning against her desk. The pair were red and stammering, neither quite able to form coherent sentences.

"Do you know what happened to him?" she whispered to Nino.

"Nope. The only time I've seen the dude like this is around Ladybug. He's got a massive crush on her."

Alya considered the two and nearly choked. "Oh my god. Nino, I think-"

"Adrikins!" Chloe screeched.

"What?" Nino asked.

"Later," Alya hissed. "I don't want to miss this."

Chloe pouted. Adrien hadn't even turned his head when she spoke to him. She walked up to him, squeezing between him and Marinette.

"Good morning," she said in what she probably thought was an attractive voice. It sounded like there was a toad stuck in her throat, croaking whenever she spoke.

Adrien blinked, his view of Marinette now partially blocked by bleached hair. "Oh, hi Chloe."

Chloe preened. "Guess what! Daddy bought me backstage passes to the Jagged Stone concert next week. My assistant called your assistant and she said you're not busy next Wednesday night, so we can go then. Isn't it just the best news ever?"

Adrien brightened. "That's right, I have a free night!"

A smug smile bloomed on Chloe's face and she turned to Marinette to gloat.

"Thanks for thinking of me Chloe, but I can't go to the concert. You should take Sabrina, I'm sure she'd love to go with you."

Chloe was shocked. "But you just said you were free that night! It's the only reason I bought the stupid tickets in the first place!"

Adrien tried to edge around her, ears red as he resumed eye contact with Marinette. "Do you want to go see a movie next Wednesday?"

"If you wanted to see a movie instead of going to the concert, you should have just told me! I'd be happy to go with you!" Chloe said, latching on to Adrien's arm a little desperately.

"But you were so excited about the concert," Adrien said, pulling away from the overeager girl. "You should definitely go! Besides, it's not much of a date with three people."

At that, the entire class froze, eyes fixed on the trio, all red-faced. Alya tried her hardest to keep the camera steady as she suppressed victorious laughter.

"A-a date?" Marinette stammered.

"Only if you want," Adrien said, suddenly worried he had said the wrong thing.

"Of course!" Marinette shouted. She slapped a hand over her mouth, took a deep breath, and continued in a normal tone. "I mean, I'd like that a lot. If that's what you want."

Adrien nodded. As Ms. Bustier walked in and started taking role, everyone took their seats. Marinette and Adrien had dopey grins on their faces all day long.

After school, Alya waved to her lovestruck friend and grabbed Nino's arm, pulling him to the nearby park.

"I think we have a problem," she said grimly.

Nino looked at her in disbelief. "How can there possibly be a problem? This is like, your OTP! The ship has sailed! Chloe got shot down! Life is perfect, dude!"

Alya scowled. "Something you said earlier got me thinking. I think that Adrien thinks that Marinette is Ladybug."

Nino opened his mouth to argue, but shock froze him in place as he realized she might be right.

"Merde," he whispered. "This could be bad."

"And the crazy thing is, I think he could be right about her."

"What?"

"Think about it! He didn't act like this when we all thought Chloe might be Ladybug. He must have solid proof this time! Besides, have you ever seen Marinette and Ladybug at the same time?" She scowled. "And if he only likes her because she's maybe Ladybug I will cut him. Cinnamon roll or not."

"You may have a point, but that doesn't prove anything. I mean, I've never seen Adrien and Chat Noir together, does that mean he's a superhero too?"

"Oh my god," Alya said. "Oh my god! Nino!"

"Wait, you don't really think-"

"THE ULTIMATE SHIP!"

Nino groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. "I regret even bringing that up. Weren't you mad at Adrien?"

She frowned. "Right. I'm angry."

"Why?"

"Because I'm pretty sure the only reason he asked her out is because he thinks she's Ladybug! And even if she is, she deserves a guy who will see Marinette as someone amazing, not just Ladybug."

"But he does think she's amazing. I always figured that Ladybug is his celebrity crush and Marinette is his real life crush. That's gotta be why he's so excited. His two crushes are actually the same person!" He paused. "Do you really think they're Paris' superheroes?"

Alya began flipping through photos on her phone. She finally found one of Nino, Marinette, and Adrien on a class trip. It had been a windy day and Alya had managed to snap a picture of Adrien mid-laugh, rather than one of his model smiles. She clicked over to her editing tools and drew a black mask and cat ears on him.

Nino looked over her shoulder, eyes wide. "Oh my god," he breathed. "How did we miss it?"

Next, Alya drew a red mask on Marinette. "She even has the same hairstyle!" she cried. "How blind are we?"

"Okay, okay," Nino said, trying to calm down. "So our best friends are superheroes. And they have mutual crushes. Do you think they know about their alter-egos? Do we tell them? What do we do?!"

"Okay, first we calm down."

"Right. Calm. I can do that." At Alya's raised eyebrow, he took a few deep breaths. "See? I'm calm. I'm as calm as a cucumber."

"That's not the phrase," Alya said.

"Whatever. What next?"

"Next we plot."

* * *

 **So, funny story. This was supposed to be the chapter where Marinette finds out that Adrien is Chat, but it turned into the Alya and Nino show. I have no regrets. This chapter came together in the space of about 2 hours.**

 **Expect chapter 3 soon.**

 **Special thanks, as always, to star-eye, who edited the story, questioned me when needed, and after the "Besides it's not much of a date..." line crowned me the queen of today. Also she puts up with (and laughs at) my late night messages when I get ideas. (Especially the ones where I sound drunk because I'm sleep deprived.)**

 **Also, wow. You readers are great. Lots of love to you too!**

 **Catch ya later, lovelies!**

 **-FD**


	3. Stall

**Disclaimer: Still not mine. Oh well.**

* * *

 _This is a bad idea,_ Nino thought, warily eying his best friend. Sure, he agreed with Alya that their friends might be living a double life and they needed to find out for sure. He just wasn't convinced stalking them until an akuma attack and ambushing them was the best way to go about it.

Alya was getting antsy as days went by with no akuma attacks. Nino couldn't help but be grateful.

Unfortunately, his luck didn't last.

As school was wrapping up for the day, phones started going off and faint explosions could be heard from farther downtown. Alya nodded grimly at Nino, then dragged Marinette off, clutching her arm tightly.

Nino followed her lead, pulling Adrien into an abandoned classroom.

"Bro, I'm gonna apologize now, but Alya is way scarier than you," Nino said, blocking the door.

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked distractedly, listening for more explosions.

Nino just sighed before grabbing Adrien's wrist and handcuffing it to his own.

That got Adrien's attention.

"What are you doing?" Adrien's eyes darted around the room, his free hand unconsciously covering his shirt pocket.

"Look, Alya's got this theory and she talked me into testing it. She thinks you're Chat Noir."

"What? That's crazy, Nino," Adrien stuttered, glancing out the window.

"I'm not allowed to let you go until I know for sure. And you're gonna want to let me know fast, because Alya's handcuffing herself to Marinette too."

Adrien tried to look clueless, but he was eyeing Nino shrewdly.

Nino sighed. "Look, dude, here's the thing. You were acting all moony-eyed over Marinette and I mentioned to Alya that I had only seen you acting like that about Ladybug. And she got it in her head that you somehow knew that Marinette was Ladybug and then I said something about Chat Noir and now she thinks both of you are superheroes and you know how persuasive she can be! So just, like, swear to me that you aren't Chat Noir and I can let you go."

"I swear I'm not Chat."

Nino gasped. "You hesitated."

"What? No I didn't!"

"And your voice totally just cracked. Are you lying to me dude? I thought we were bros!"

"We are!"

"Then tell me the truth!"

"Fine! I'm Chat Noir!" Adrien's eyes grew wide and he slapped a hand over his mouth.

Nino dropped into a nearby chair, pulling Adrien with him. The model sat next to his friend.

"Merde," Nino whispered. "I didn't think she was actually right."

"Good going, kid," a third voice drawled. Nino looked around wildly, trying to find the source.

"Well, I guess the cat's out the bag now," Adrien said with a weak laugh.

Nino groaned. "Please, not the puns."

"Hey," the strange voice spoke up again, "the puns are gold."

A black blur flew out of Adrien's pocket to hover between the two boys.

Nino scooted as far back as the handcuffs would let him. "What is that?!" he whispered.

Adrien rubbed his forehead with his free hand. "This is Plagg. Plagg, this is my friend Nino."

The small cat-like creature floated closer. "You tried to throw my kid a party. Got akumatized for it."

Nino scratched the back of his neck, blushing slightly. "Yeah, sorry about that dude."

"Don't apologize! He needs people to do more nice things for him. Besides, it was an awesome party. A little lacking on cheese, though."

"Plagg!" Adrien whined.

"Yeah, yeah, where's my snack?"

As Adrien pulled out a tin of foul smelling cheese, which Plagg quickly got to work devouring, Adrien began to explain about the creature, apparently called a kwami, and how it granted him the superpowers of Chat Noir.

"So Alya was right. Marinette's Ladybug?"

Adrien nodded, a dreamy smile taking over his face. "I only found out a few days ago."

"Really? I would have thought you two would tell each other right away."

"I always wanted to, but she said it wasn't safe."

Nino rolled his eyes. "Superhero 101, dude. Someone needs to know your secret identity in case something happens to you. Sure, you don't want to put anyone in danger, but another superhero is totally able to deal with any potential danger."

"Huh. I never thought about it like that."

"So how did she react when she found out?"

"Found out what?"

"That you're Chat Noir."

Adrien froze, eyes wide. "She doesn't know. You can't tell her. You have to promise me you won't tell her!"

"Why not? You two are finally happy together, don't you want to be honest with her?"

"Yeah, sure, that'd be great," Adrien said with a sigh. "Except for the fact that she doesn't like Chat. I mean, not romantically."

"I'm sure she'll change her mind once she knows it's you."

"But I don't want that! I mean, I don't want her to like me as Chat just because I'm Adrien. I want her to like Chat too. He's just as much me as Adrien is. Sometimes," his voice lowered to a whisper, "I think Chat is more who I really am than Adrien is."

Nino nodded in understanding. "It's funny, Alya is worried that the only reason you're with Marinette is because you found out she's Ladybug."

"What? No! I've been so torn between the two of them for the longest time, I didn't know what to do. If I had thought I had a chance with either of them, I would have asked her out ages ago. But Marinette always seems so reserved around me and Ladybug has turned me down more times than I can count."

"That's not true," Plagg said through a mouthful of cheese. "You keep count. I think you're somewhere around 12 rejections now. And those are only the straightforward ones."

Adrien turned red. "Anyway, I don't want her to find out just yet. And I certainly don't want her to hear it from someone else."

Nino pulled out his phone and dialed Alya. It rang a few times before she answered.

"What? Did you get a confession? Marinette's about to break over here, I just need to pull out the big guns."

"No!" Nino shouted. "Did you say anything about Adrien yet?"

"No," she said slowly, "that's the big guns, remember?"

"Abort! Do not say anything else. We need to regroup!"

There was a pause. "Were we wrong?"

"No, but new information has come up. Don't tell her anything. Come to my place after all this gets cleaned up. I'll make sure Adrien is there too."

"Is it really that important?"

"Yeah."

He could hear her muttering to herself in frustration. "Fine," she finally said. "But this had better be good. Otherwise I go straight to Marinette. She deserves to know!"

"And he deserves to be the one to tell her, don't you think?"

"I guess." He could hear Marinette in the background, asking questions. "Fine, I'll let her go for now. You do the same."

"I'll see you later."

Nino ended the call and pulled out the key, unlocking the handcuffs. "Can you come over later? Sneak away using your cat power or something?"

Adrien pouted. "I prefer the term superpower. Cat power sounds lame."

"Hey, cat powers are awesome," Plagg said.

"I'll be there. But for now, I've got a villain to stop."

Nino watched, awed, as Adrien transformed into one half of Paris' dynamic pair of heroes and jumped out a window. His best friend threw himself out a window and Nino wasn't the least bit concerned.

This was his life now.

He headed home, which was luckily the opposite direction of the akuma. Alya caught up with him on the way and he managed to stave off her questions until they were back at his house, which was thankfully empty.

"Alright, what happened?" Alya asked with a scowl.

"Well, first things first: I got a full confession from Adrien. Saw him transform and everything."

Her eyes lit up. "That's fantastic! Now we just need to get Marinette to admit she's Ladybug and then we can sort out Adrien."

"Sort out Adrien?"

She scowled. "I need to make sure he won't hurt her."

"At this point I'm more worried about her hurting him."

"How could she possibly hurt him? She practically worships the boy!"

"Yeah, Adrien. But what about Chat?"

"What do you mean?"

Nino stood, pacing back and forth. "I know you're worried that Adrien only likes Marinette for Ladybug, but when have you ever seen Adrien turn down Marinette. For anything? Because I've never seen him do that."

She paused, thinking about it. "You're right."

"And how many times have you seen Ladybug reject Chat?"

"Oh my god," she whispered. "Oh my god, you're right!"

"Adrien freaked out when he thought you had told Marinette who he is. He's terrified that she won't care about him as Chat, even though he is Chat. I think we need to let him handle this on his own."

Alya groaned. "You're right, you're right. We let him do this. But he'd better do it soon."

"If you insist, Lady Wifi."

Alya barely managed to stifle her shriek at Chat Noir's sudden arrival. "Adrien?"

The transformation released, revealing a sheepish looking Adrien. "Hi Alya."

"It's you. It's actually you. I'm finally right!"

"You aren't going to publish this, are you?"

"Of course not! I'm not that dumb or desperate for fame. Your secret is safe with me."

"Good. Now, can I get your advice? I need to figure out how to win over Ladybug."

"You've come to the right place," Alya said with a smirk. "I happen to be an expert on both Ladybug and Marinette. We'll figure this out in no time."

* * *

 **Welp. This one-shot has turned into a Very Long Thing. I have no regrets.**

 **I keep forgetting to mention that chapter 1 was inspired by a pair of unrelated comics I saw on Pinterest. It sounds like some of you have seen them as well!**

 **Thanks, as always, to star-eye for beta-reading. We're bros. Just like Nino and Adrien (though I'm not sure who's who in that analogy).**

 **At least one more chapter! (Possibly more, who can say!)**

 **Catch ya later, lovelies!**

 **-FD**


	4. Consideration

**Miraculous is not mine.**

* * *

Chat Noir was acting weird.

And considering Ladybug had always thought him a little strange, weird was not a good sign.

He was probably up to something.

She just couldn't figure it out. All of a sudden, his flirtatious behavior lessened. He was still brave and complimentary of her, but if she had to describe his actions in a word, it would be . . . professional.

And even more strangely, Ladybug didn't like it. She missed the playful banter. She missed the cheesy lines. God help her, she even missed the puns. The puns!

She should be happy. She and Adrien were dating, Alya and the Ladyblog were quieter than usual, and with fewer akumas popping up, she was finally getting enough rest.

So why did it hurt so much when Chat shut himself off from her?

She observed Chat as he arrived at their meeting spot. He was so caught up in whatever was preoccupying him that he didn't even notice her, as she was half hidden in the shadows. He seemed so nervous, so twitchy.

"Alright, you're going to tell me what's wrong."

Chat jumped almost two feet in the air. Ladybug swore she saw hackles rise on the back of his neck.

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong, why would you think that? Everything perfectly fine!"

Her eyes narrowed. "You just missed the opportunity to use your favorite pun. Spill."

His eyes darted around, looking for an escape or a distraction.

"Chat," she said. "I know that we don't spend time together outside of this, but I consider you one of my closest friends. I want you to feel comfortable sharing things with me."

"I know who you are!" He slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide.

"What?" The question came out low and threatening.

"Nothing?"

"No, not nothing. You said you know who I am. I thought we agreed to keep that a secret!"

"I didn't mean to! It was an accident, My L-," he cut himself off.

Her eyes softened. "That's why you've been treating me differently."

He gulped. "Yes."

"And. . . You know me?"

"Yes."

She nodded, deep in thought. "Well, I can't say I'm happy about it, but maybe it is time we shared our identities with each other. Just in case something happens or we need to get in touch without drawing attention."

"I'd really rather not," Chat whispered.

"Why? Do I know you?"

He flinched and nodded.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm scared this will change things."

"But Chat, it already has."

She raked her mind, trying to think about everyone she knew and how they compared to her partner. At first, no one came to mind. But then she remembered her boyfriend, how relaxed and funny she found he could be. She had chalked it up to getting more comfortable around each other and enjoying the new relationship, but what if that wasn't all? What if it was because he was allowing himself to be more like Chat around his Ladybug?

"Adrien?" She asked cautiously.

His shoulders hunched and he nodded again, not daring to meet her gaze.

She sat on the edge of the roof, shocked.

"You're . . . Adrien."

He nodded.

" _My_ Adrien?"

He flinched, nodding again.

"How long have you known?"

"Only a few days."

"A few days . . ." she whispered. "Is that . . . is that why you asked me out? Because you found out I'm Ladybug?"

"No!" he said, shrinking back at the sight of her flashing eyes. "Not entirely."

"What does that even mean?" She stood and started to pace around the rooftop. "God, how stupid was I? Of course you'd never ask out Marinette, you only care about Ladybug!"

"That's not true!" Chat jumped to his feet. "Maybe it used to be, but not anymore!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ladybug practically spat.

"It means I have feelings for Marinette too! I have for a while!" Chat visibly deflated. "Believe what you like, but I've been struggling between the two of you for months now. Finding out you were the same person . . . everything seemed to fall into place. I thought maybe you'd give Adrien a chance. It's not like you'd ever date Chat Noir."

Ladybug opened her mouth, but Chat held up a hand to interrupt her.

"Look, obviously emotions are running high right now. It's a Friday night, let's take the weekend to think things over. Unless there's an akuma, I'll meet you back here on Sunday night. We can talk more then."

Without waiting for a response, he took off, disappearing into the night. Numb, Marinette headed for her own home. She landed on her balcony and climbed into her room. Tikki ended her transformation and hovered worriedly by Marinette's head.

"Are you alright?"

"Of course I'm not alright! I just found out my boyfriend is a superhero!"

"Well, to be fair, you're a superhero too."

"That's not the point! He lied to me!"

Tikki frowned. "Actually, he told you the truth. He could have hidden the fact that he knew."

"But-"

"Marinette, I understand you're confused and upset. But you can't blame Adrien for this. He didn't mean to find out who you were and he told you almost immediately."

Marinette flopped onto her bed with a sigh. "I guess you're right. I just . . . ." She trailed off. "I don't know what I feel right now."

"That's understandable," Tikki said, floating down and landing on Marinette's shoulder. She patted the girl's hair. "A lot has happened in the last few days, I'm sure it feels like an emotional roller coaster. Why don't you try to get some sleep? Maybe things will look better in the morning."

"I'll try."

And she did. But her thoughts were so jumbled, what little sleep she did get was restless.

Things weren't much better the next day. She still didn't want to talk and, mercifully, Tikki gave her some space. Marinette tried to help her parents out in the bakery, but she was distracted and more of a hindrance than a help. She meandered around upstairs trying to work on homework and her latest design, but she couldn't focus on anything. She jumped, falling out of her chair, at a knock on her door.

"Who- who is it?" she called out warily.

"Your best friend!" Alya poked her head up, grin falling from her face at the sight of Marinette sprawled out on the floor, face down. "You okay, girl?"

"Nnghrfm," she moaned.

"Use your words, please," Alya said, sitting next to Marinette. Marinette flopped onto her back, lifting her head to rest on Alya's knee. Alya started playing with her hair.

"You know," Alya said after a few moments, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were having one of your pre-dating, Adrien-meltdowns."

Marinette squeezed her eyes shut, groaning. Alya froze.

"Marinette. Is there something you need to tell me?"

The girl in question threw her arm over her eyes. "We might have had an argument last night."

"About what?"

"I can't say."

Alya took a deep breath. "Is this about him being Chat Noir?"

Marinette jolted upright. "What?"

"And you being Ladybug?"

"What are you talking about? That's ridiculous!"

Alya raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Girl, even if I didn't know you so well, the fact that your voice just went up about two octaves would give you away in a heartbeat."

Marinette slumped back down to the floor. "I'm a failure."

"What? How can you say that? You're a hero! A super badass, role model, city-saving _hero_! How could you possibly be a failure?"

"But . . . but two people have found out my identity in the last week! It's supposed to be a secret!"

"Well, technically three people."

"What?" Marinette shrieked.

"I was talking to Nino when I figured it out. Actually, he's the one who made me think of it."

Marinette groaned, but before she could start on another rant, a red blur flew down from her bed.

"Alright, that's enough!" Tikki said, placing herself in Marinette's line of sight. "The fact that people know your identity does not make you a failure!"

"But you said-"

"Yes, when you first started out I told you not to tell anyone. But now that you're more established and comfortable in your role, it's fine if you have a few people you trust in on your secret. In fact, it's a wonderful thing. You get a support system, a built-in cover story. I was getting ready to suggest you tell your parents, Chat, and Alya."

Alya watched the exchange, wide-eyed. "Wow. Thanks. Hi. Who are you?"

Tikki floated over to her. "I'm Tikki, the kwami attached to Ladybug's miraculous. I form her suit and give her powers. I'm so pleased to finally meet you Alya!"

"I'm pleased to meet you too," Alya said, an awed smile taking over her face. "Wow. Ok. If we're gonna do this, then I need snacks. Lots of snacks. I'm raiding your kitchen. You two want anything?"

"Cookies please!" Tikki chirped.

"Hot chocolate?" Marinette asked, finally starting to smile again.

"Sure thing. I'll be right back and then believe me, you're going to tell me every detail. After that we can talk about what's really upsetting you."

"What do you mean?"

"I know you're scared things might change or go wrong, but change isn't always a bad thing. You can still trust him."

"Really?"

"This has been driving him crazy, Marinette. You should have seen him earlier this week when Nino and I cornered him. He was a mess, completely terrified that he'd ruin things between you. He cares about you so much."

"You're right. And I yelled at him, Alya! What if he hates me now?"

Alya smiled. "He could never hate you. Don't worry, after story time, we'll figure out how you can apologize to the poor boy."

Marinette sighed, finally feeling like things might turn out okay.

* * *

 ***pushes out new chapter and scurries back behind rock, peeking out warily***

 **Heh, heh. Hey there.**

 **Soooo...yeah. I have excuses (theater, possibly moving, winter blues, other projects), but I won't bore you with the details. Please accept this chapter with my humblest apologies and the promise of a fifth (and hopefully final) chapter in the next day or two.**

 **And yes, that means there's going to be at least one more chapter. *starts singing* This is the one-shot that never ends...**

 **Although, it makes me quite happy that yet another chapter ends with Alya plotting.**

 **Special thanks, as always, to star-eye for beta-reading and keeping me calm and distracted while I wait to find out if a story I wrote won the contest I submitted it to.**

 **Catch ya later, lovelies! (But not too much later, I promise.)**

 **-FD**


	5. Resolution

**Disclaimer: Not mine. If it was, season 2 would be much kinder to Marinette's character. I feel like they kind of ruined her. But that's a rant for another day.**

* * *

Talking to Alya, sharing all the secrets that had been weighing on her, left Marinette feeling lighter and happier than she had felt in a long time. In fact, by the time Sunday night rolled around, she was excited.

"I can do this," she said softly to herself.

"You can," Tikki said. "Just remember to listen, too. Chat Noir seemed really upset the other day."

"I know." The thought seemed to sober her up.

Chat was waiting for her, pacing on the rooftop, when she swung in to land beside him.

"I'm sorry!" they blurted after a moment of awkward silence. Ladybug snuck a glance at her partner, noting that he was doing he same and not liking the tension she saw in his hunched shoulders.

"Please," Chat said, "can I . . . ?"

"Of course," she hastily reassured him.

"I shouldn't have pushed you. I had time to process everything; I should have made sure you had the same." He spoke quickly and with his eyes closed, as if waiting for some horrible reaction. He opened one eye slightly to gauge her mood.

Ladybug smiled at him. "Thank you. And I want you to know that I'm not angry at you. To be honest, I don't think I ever was. I was confused and scared and I took it out on you. That was wrong of me and I'm so, so sorry."

Chat's shoulders lost their stiffness and he smiled.

"And you're not upset I'm Chat Noir?"

"Of course not! But can I ask you a question?"

"Anything."

"Why were you so scared I wouldn't care about you?"

"Because you care so much about Adrien."

She chuckled. "You _are_ Adrien, chaton."

He drew back. "But I'm also Chat Noir."

"And I'm also Ladybug. But taking up the mask and the powers doesn't change who we are."

"You don't get it!" He turned away, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Chat isn't the mask. Adrien is."

"What do you mean?"

"You see Ladybug as a duty, a responsibility. And that's what this is for you, which is fine. But for me, being Chat Noir is a chance to be myself, to be free. The Adrien everyone else sees is all an act. The perfect son, the perfect model, the perfect student."

"But that's not who I fell for." She moved to stand in front of him, placing a hand on his cheek. "I fell for the boy who was desperate to make new friends and made sure I knew he wasn't mean. I fell for the boy who shared his umbrella with me. I fell for the boy who cares so deeply for other people and, despite constant disappointment, manages to have the most genuine and warm smile I've ever seen. _That's_ who I fell for." She winked. "The model looks were just a plus."

He looked at her for a moment, eyes wide, before wrapping her in a tight hug.

"Thank you," he whispered.

They didn't end up patrolling. They sat on the edge of the rooftop, talking for hours.

"We should probably detransform," Ladybug said as it neared midnight.

Chat eyed the long drop to the ground. "Really? Here?" He winked at her. "Missing my handsome face?"

She rolled her eyes. "No. But I know Tikki has been missing Plagg. She's told me all about him the last few days."

Chat brightened. "Oh yeah! Plagg said Tikki was the only thing he loves more than his Camembert." He laughed at the look on her face. "Coming from Plagg, that's high praise. Trust me."

They released their transformations, smiling as the two kwami flew around at a speed almost too fast for their eyes to follow.

"Can I ask a question?" Marinette asked.

"Anything, _Purr_ -incess."

"How did you find out I was Ladybug?"

* * *

 **GUYS, IT'S FINALLY DONE!**

 **Wow. That turned into something I was not expecting. But it's done now! So I can focus on that Fairy Tail Beauty and the Beast AU...or maybe that other Miraculous story about Plagg and Tikki...or the...**

 **As you can see, I have too many ideas and not enough time.**

 **Special thanks, as always, to star-eye for beta-reading and getting my musical references (and continuing them too!). The musical reference wasn't in the story, don't worry, you didn't miss it.**

 **Catch ya later, lovelies!**

 **-FD**


End file.
